No Lies
by littledoggy
Summary: When one speaks without looking into the listener's eyes, it is said that the speaker is lying. Does that apply to Natsume as well? ONESHOT


**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.**

**.;(No Lies);.**

',',

Ruka waited anxiously in the classroom, watching the closed door and praying that it would swing open to reveal Natsume. It was already 7.55 in the morning, and Ruka was worried for his seemingly cold-hearted friend. He had seen the fire caster disappear among the trees last night, and he knew that Natsume had gone off on another mission.

His head snapped to the door when it clicked open, but his hopes dropped when he saw Mikan instead, chatting happily as always. Her smile widened when she saw her so-called best friend Hotaru and she rushed to greet her.

"HO-TA-RU!" she screamed, ready to crush her friend in a bear hug. Hotaru did not even glance at her. Mikan came closer and closer to her, quickly covering the distance between them. Then –

_BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!_

Hotaru blew away the smoke from the tip of her baka gun, staring emotionlessly at her friend. Mikan cried loudly where she lay sprawled on the marble floor.

"Waaah, Hotaru, you're so mean!" she wailed.

"Baka," the latter murmured and returned to her book. Yuu approached Mikan shyly.

"Hey Mikan, daijoubu?" he queried. Mikan nodded and accepted his hand, using it to pull herself up.

"Arigato Ii -hic- ncho," she sniffled. He nodded and went back to his seat. Mikan quelled her tears and walked to her seat. Ruka never noticed her sitting down on the seat beside him. He was absorbed with worried thoughts of Natsume.

"Ruka-pyon? Ne Ruka-pyon?"

"Mm? W-What?" he muttered distractedly, his eyes trained on the classroom door.

"What's wrong?"

"Hmm…?"

Mikan sighed and left him alone to chat with Nonoko and Anna. While she was listening to Anna's chatter, she could not help but wonder….

What made Ruka-pyon this worried? And where was that hentai? The two of them were seldom apart, after all.

The door swung open again to reveal a head of messy blue-black hair and weary crimson eyes. Natsume gripped the handle tightly until his knuckles turned white.

"Natsume!" Ruka cried. His initial relief soon dissipated when he saw the look in Natsume's eye. "Natsume, daijoubu?"

The fire caster turned his head to look at Ruka. "I'm fine."

"Demo -"

"Leave me alone."

"Natsume…" Ruka whispered, watching his friend walk unsteadily to his seat and bury his face in his arms.

Why? Why does Natsume keep pushing him away?

Taking a seat beside the fire alice, he peered closely into Natsume's face. Suddenly Natsume whirled around to face him with a hard glare.

"Why are you staring?" he snapped. Ruka blanched and edged away.

"Er…was I?"

"Hn." Natsume rested his head on his arms once more and ignored Ruka completely. Ruka frowned.

Far away, Mikan cocked her head to one side as she watched the mysterious feud between the two best friends.

What was going on?

She saw Ruka frown when Natsume lowered his head.

_I'll talk to Ruka later_, she resolved.

….

"Ne Ruka-pyon, anything wrong?"

"Nani?!" Ruka turned around, bewildered. "Oh, it's you Mikan."

"Anything wrong? You look distracted today."

Ruka's face dropped, revealing his woe. "Um…nothing."

"Come on, you can tell me you know?" Mikan said with a smile. Ruka sighed.

"Well…it's Natsume."

"What's with the hentai?" Mikan asked, puzzled.

"I think he's worn out with all those missions. I…you didn't see his face today, did you?"

"Hmm…no."

"He's in pain, I'm sure of it," Ruka said in a strained voice. "Yet he refuses my help…"

Mikan blinked. "He was in pain?"

"He pushes everyone away, even me. But I can see him suffering, Mikan. It hurts to know that I cannot do anything."

"Oh…"

"Well, I have to go now," he said, smiling half-heartedly. "Bye Mikan."

"Bye…"

Mikan frowned. Was it true that Natsume was suffering? Could I be that Ruka was hallucinating when he thought he saw suffering etched into Natsume's face?

"Aww, I hate thinking," she moaned. "Might as well ask Natsume-kun."

….

Natsume was resting at the base favourite sakura tree, his eyes closed as though he were asleep. But he was not. He was in pain. His hand gripped the trunk of the tree and held it tight in an effort to dull the agony he was enduring, the after-effects of over-usage of his alice.

"Hey Natsume-kun!" someone called. Natsume bared his teeth and willed his tired eyes to open. There, in front of him, was polka dots.

"What is it?" he snapped.

"Daijoubu?"

"…"

"Natsume-kun."

Natsume glared at her. Could she not leave him alone?

Apparently, she could not. Or rather, she _would not._

"Daijoubu?" Mikan repeated.

"Yes. Now go," he snarled. Mikan blinked.

"You're lying," she proclaimed.

"No I am not," Natsume said through gritted teeth as he steeled himself against another wave of pain.

"Then look at me in the eye when you're talking!"

"…"

"I dare you to look at me and repeat your words!"

_Look who's talking_, Natsume thought dryly. Sighing, he decided to comply. Perhaps polka dots would leave him in peace if he did.

Turning his face so that his eyes were level with hers, he opened his mouth to speak. No words spilled out of his mouth.

He found himself speechless when he stared into her brown orbs. Why was this happening?! He was _the_ Hyuuga Natsume, after all. Saying no should not be a problem to him.

"Hah! See!" Mikan cried triumphantly. "You can't say it! So that means you lied to me!"

"Who the hell said that?" he muttered.

"Hotaru," she replied matter-of-factly.

Suddenly her expression changed from a satisfied one to one of comfort and understanding. It was so sudden that it left Natsume unnerved.

"Hey Natsume-kun…" she whispered and placed a warm hand on his shoulder. Natsume tensed and glared suspiciously at her.

"…"

"You don't need to keep your emotions bottled up like that you know. You can always confide in me. I'm always here to lend a hand."

"…"

"Your friends are always here for you, Natsume-kun."

And then she was gone, skipping away with a smile on her face. Her dainty feet barely touched the ground.

"You're not alone!" she yelled over her shoulder. "Ja ne!"

Natsume stared after the prancing figure with disbelief etched into every inch of his face. Slowly but surely, a grin crept its way onto his handsome features.

_Tsk, that girl. She'll always be the dense little girl I know._

_But she's all I want._

_And she's what I got._

',',

I hope you liked it! Bye now!

Oh yeah, care to leave a review? Thanks!


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